Cipher Hunt
Cipherhunt is an alternate reality game about Gravity Falls created by Alex Hirsch. The goal of the game is to find an actual statue of Bill Cipher by retrieving and decoding clues hidden in various locations around the world, such as Russia and Japan. The first one to the statue will receive a prize, though the hunt is mainly about the journey and not the destination.DON'T FORGET IT'S ALL FOR PLEASURE, THE HUNT ITSELF'S THE REAL TREASURE. BUT A PRIZE AWAITS THE FIRST ONE THERE. BE SAFE, BE SMART, AND OF COURSE, BEWARE. Decoded from https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cn1kjPHVMAAFCta.jpg:large Rules The official rules to Cipherhunt are as follows:https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755948098036260864 * This is an unofficial fan tribute treasure hunt just made by Alex Hirsch! It has no affiliation with any company! * No trespassing/vandalism. Everything is in a public place. Be respectful of your surroundings! Don't be a dummy! * Be careful - you search at your own risk! Like Pokemon Go, keep an eye out for Gyradoses! * If you encounter Bill, whatever you do, don't shake his hand! The Hunt Many theorized that there was an actual Bill Cipher statue in the world based off of the end of "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls," which contains both a picture of a real Bill statue and a cryptogram hinting at the presence of treasure "deep within the woods" and "beyond the rusty gates." Alex Hirsch and the team behind Gravity Falls ''did not talk about the presence of a statue in the months following the end of the show until the silence was broken on July 20th, 2016. On that date, Hirsch tweeted "Are you guys ready?"https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755870103783124992 and then proceeded to begin Cipherquest with a tweet containing the words "Let the games begin #'FLSKHUKXQW'" and the image shown above.https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755870882027802624 The image contained several cryptograms and clues. * After shifting the phrase "'#'''FLSKHUKXQW" three letters back, the text reads "#CIPHERHUNT." * The text above the Bill statue reads "WKH XUEDQ OHJHQG KDV FRPH WUXH / FLSKHU'V VWDWXH'V FDOOLQJ BRX / WKH VHFUHW PDS LV LQ BRXU KDQG / WR WUDFH WKH FOXHV DFURVV WKH ODQG." After shifting the message three letters back, the text reads "THE URBAN LEGEND HAS COME TRUE / CIPHER'S STATUE'S CALLING YOU / THE SECRET MAP IS IN YOUR HAND / TO TRACE THE CLUES ACROSS THE LAND." * The numbers above the Bill statue read "8-15-10-19-5." After putting the message through A1Z26, Atbash and shifting it three letters back, the text reads "PINES." * The text below the Bill statue reads "GRQ'W IRUJHW LW'V DOO IRU SOHDVXUH / WKH KXQW LWVHOI'V WKH UHDO WUHDVXUH / EXW D SULCH DZDLWV WKH ILUVW RQH WKHUH / EH VDIH, EH VPDUW, DQG RI FRXUVH EHZDUH." After shifting the message three letters back, the text reads "DON'T FORGET IT'S ALL FOR PLEASURE / THE HUNT ITSELF'S THE REAL TREASURE / BUT A PRIZE AWAITS THE FIRST ONE THERE / BE SAFE, BE SMART, AND OF COURSE BEWARE." Decoding the red letters placed across both sets of cryptograms creates the word "RUSSIA," hinting at the location of the first clue. The diagram at the middle left of the image is an architectural plan of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg.http://www.adriaticmaps.com/prints/Granville_PlanKazan.jpg The diagram at the middle right shows exactly where in the Cathedral it can be found. Using this image, the first clue was successfully found.https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755921257439174656 * The text on the clue decodes to "Finally the hunt can begin / So switch your Rubles out for Yen / Turn left when you're at the shrine's door / When you reach the statue turn left once more / In the leftmost corner in the back / Is the info that you lack / A sword and a crescent mark the clue / Cipher's statue's calling you." This points to the second clue being located in Japan, which uses yen as currency. The exact location of the clue is inside the Kanda Myojin Shrine, which Alex visited during his trip to Japanhttps://twitter.com/_alexhirsch/status/695393614172520448. On the back of one of the emas inside the shrine was a scimitar and crescent with an encrypted message.https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755962611158519808 * The text on the clue decodes to "Consider in your quest for truth / the hunter of the fountain of youth / 400 before his name is written / Outside the gate is where its hidden / Find what's LOST to pass the test / From a Shrine that's east to a Shrine that's west." The second clue points to the third clue being located inside a Shriner's temple with the address "400 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30308."https://www.mapquest.com/us/georgia/business-atlanta/yaarab-shrine-temple-3797981 A community stream found a missing poster for Waddles in the area, yet it was water damaged and difficult to read. The poster contains a phone number to call if Waddles is found. When called, the number plays a backwards message.https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755982533175545856 * The poster contains some information about Waddles: "NAME: Waddles. SEX: ??? BREED: Pig. WEIGHT: 15 lbs. Last seen sitting around some rocks near a creek. ADDITIONAL INFO: Oink oink oink oink oink oink (etc.)" * The poster also contains an encrypted message. When decoded, it reads: "across from the stones of the springs / you'll find some peculiar things / tied to a root is a lone pink key / dig to find what waits for thee." The purpose of this message is currently unknown. * The phone number, when reversed, plays a message from Grunkle Stan while the X-Files theme plays in the background. The call reads: '"Hello, it's Grunkle Stan, and I have a riddle for you! What has two legs during the day, four legs during the night, and uh, it's red and white, and, I dunno, I'm no good at these riddles. It's at Ochre Court, all right? The next clue, it's at Ochre Court. It's, uh, it's like, it's a big old building in Rhode Island. And if you go up the stairs, there's gonna be a bunch of pictures of nuns on the wall. You gotta look behind one of the nun pictures. Sister Mary Hilda Miley. Real, real grouch, that nun. Lift up the picture to find a clue behind the nun, all right? That's the whole thing. So, you know, be careful with the picture. Don't break it. I don't want you to get anyone in trouble, all right? You don't want ol' Grunkle Stan going to jail. Anyway, go to the place, look behind the nun, find the thing, and uh, uh, always? Be...mys...''look out for mysteries! That it, did, did I do it? All right."'''https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755984590657859584 This clue shows that the fourth clue is located in the Ochre Court building in Salve Regina University of Rhode Island. However, the University has indicated that they were not asked to participate in the Cipherhunt and there is nothing behind the picture of Sister Miley.https://twitter.com/SalveRegina/status/756126541181050880 The hunt is now at a complete standstill as people figure out what to do next.